(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a construction machine comprising an undercarriage designed as a running gear an upper carriage with a housing having side walls, wherein for access to the housing at least one housing opening with an access wall is provided, which is adjustable by means of an adjustment mechanism into an open position, and in an area in front of the housing opening a horizontal gangway is formed.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Upper carriages of such type are deployed, for example, in earth drilling apparatuses or other earth working machines. These construction machines usually have a running gear, in particular a crawler-track running gear, as an undercarriage, on which an upper carriage is arranged in a fixed or rotatable manner. The upper carriage can therefore have a considerable distance to the ground surface. Depending on the size of the undercarriage this can usually amount to 1 to 2 meters [[m]] and more. As a rule, the drive units, such as a diesel engine, hydraulic pumps, a current generator or further drives for winches, are arranged in the upper carriage. Thus, for maintenance and repair purposes an easy and safe access to the housing of the upper carriage is required.
From DE 10 2009 050 189 A1 a construction machine with an upper carriage is known, in which parts of the housing can be folded open in the upward direction. A lateral gangway with fall protection device is arranged in a fixed manner along the flanks of the housing. However, such gangways arranged in a fixed manner either reduce the constructional space inside the housing or enlarge the external dimensions of the construction machine.
An upper carriage with a fold-out gangway can be taken from JP 6-85148 A1. The gangway is designed as a grating which is placed externally against a side wall. To set up the gangway supports have to be swung out and the grating must be folded downwards. An external grating has a negative effect on the appearance of the upper carriage and is, moreover, exposed to dirt and soiling without protection.
From SU 546555 A1 it is known a vehicle with wheels, at which a side wall can be displaced by displaceable rails which can be regarded as telescopic rails. After displacement and extension a vertical plate is placed into a horizontal position for forming a gangway.
A generic construction machine can be taken from EP 2 216 238 A1 for example. In this upper carriage vertical side walls can be moved vertically upwards by means of an adjustment mechanism. An internal protected gangway can then be folded downwards into a horizontal position in order to form a horizontal gangway. The gangway can only be formed after the access wall has been opened which can be a problem in terms of handling and for the safety of the operating personnel.
The invention is based on the construction machine to provide an upper carriage which, whilst being of a simple and compact construction, enables an easy and at the same time safe set-up of a gangway.